Vegan, Gluten Free Lasagna Rollups Filled With Tofu Ricotta And Pesto

I prefer rollups over lasagna when cooking for 2 to 4 people.

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Rollups
Lasagna is one of my "go to" meals when I have a crowd. It takes a lot of preparation and I generally make enough to feed a small village. But if I'm only cooking for the 2 of us I don't want to go through that much trouble. Rollups are a good solution as they are much easier to make and 8 of them fit nicely in an 8 inch square pan - enough for 4 servings.

Gluten Free Noodles
If you are on a gluten free diet, you no longer have to skip eating lasagna! I discovered a very nice brown rice lasagna noodle made by Tinkyada. The noodles hold their shape very well and remain al dente even after baking. The only downside is that many of the noodles in the box were broken. I don't know if that was just my luck or if rice noodles are more prone to breakage during shipping. In any case, pick up a spare box for backup. Perhaps that's their marketing strategy to get people to buy more product :-)

Tinkyada gluten free brown rice lasagna noodles.
2 ounces provide:
210 calories
2 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol
43 g carbohydrates
4 g protein
2 g dietary fiber

Tofu Ricotta
By blending firm tofu with some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, you end up with a great ricotta substitute. This works well if you are lactose intolerant and can no longer eat cheese. 
If I were making this ricotta for a dish that wasn't also using pesto, I would add some granulated garlic and would pulse in some fresh parsley or basil at the end. For a shot of omega-3, you can also add a flax egg (1 T ground flax seed and 3 tablespoons of water). 

I use Wildwood SprouTofu but any firm tofu will do.

Process until smooth. 

Pesto

The flavor of this dish comes from pesto. You can use any kind you'd like. I happen to have some vegan cilantro pesto left over from a photo shoot so I used that. But basil and walnut pesto (below) would probably be more traditional for a lasagna rollup.

Pesto provides the flavor in this dish. 

Lasagna Rollups filled with Tofu Ricotta and Pesto
Vegan, Gluten Free
Requires Food Processor and 8 inch square pan
[makes 4 servings]

For the rollups
8 gluten free lasagna noodles (or regular noodles if not concerned with gluten)
2 teaspoons salt for water
2 cups prepared  tomato sauce (if sodium is a concern use no salt added)
2 tablespoon fresh basil, sliced
For the ricotta
1 pound firm tofu, drained and cut in 1 inch cubes
2 tablespoons Red Star vegetarian formula nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the pesto
1 clove garlic
1 packed cup fresh basil
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons raw English walnuts
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon Red Star vegetarian formula nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Fill a large pot with water and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil and cook pasta for several minutes less time than called for so that the noodles are flexible but durable. If using Tinyada, cook for 10 to 13 minutes and not 15 as called for. Rinse in cold water and set aside.

Make the ricotta. Place the tofu, nutritional yeast, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and black pepper in a food processor fitted with an S blade. Process until smooth scraping down the sides when necessary. Place in a bowl and set aside. Clean the food processor so you can make the pesto.

Make the pesto. Place the clove of garlic in the shoot of a running food processor. Add the remaining pesto ingredients and process until smooth scraping down the sides when necessary. Set aside.

To make the rollups, place 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of an 8 inch square baking dish.

Place a cooked noodle on a flat surface. Spread 1/8th of the tofu ricotta over one side of the entire lasagna noodle. Then spread 1/8th of the pesto over the ricotta. Roll up the noodle and place in the pan with the seam of the noodle facing down. Repeat until all the noodles are filled and in the pan.

Spread tofu ricotta over the noodle.

Then spread pesto over the ricotta and roll it up.

8 rollups fit perfectly in an 8 inch square pan.
Cover with the remaining sauce and bake.

Cover the rollups with the remaining 1 cup of tomato sauce. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the oven until hot and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

Remove the foil and top with sliced basil and serve.

After baking, top with fresh basil and serve.
Two rollups is one serving.

Per serving: 425 calories, 15.7 g fat, 1.8 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 17.4 g protein, 54.1 g carbohydrates, 5.8 g dietary fiber and 336 mg sodium (sodium is calculated using no salt added tomato sauce).

Vegan Eggplant And Red Bell Pepper Lasagna - Low In Calories And Fat, High In Fiber. Perfect For Entertaining!

Eggplant and  red bell pepper lasagna in a 9' x 13" tray

How to Turn Lasagna into a Healthy Family Meal
When you think about lasagna, the words, "healthy", "low fat" and "low calorie" don't exactly come to mind but you can truly made a delicious lasagna that's light and guilt free. 
I don't know what the Olive Garden restaurant puts into their lasagnas but they have managed to turn this traditional Italian delicacy into a "heart attack on a plate". Their own website shows one dinner serving of  their  "Lasagna Classico" has 850 calories, 47 grams of fat, (25 grams of which are saturated), and 2,830 mg of sodium, (nearly twice the daily recommended limit by the American Heart Association). Oh, and by the way, this was their light lasagna! Their "Lasagna Rollata Al Forno" weighs in at 1,170 calories, 68 grams of fat, (39 grams of which are saturated), and 2,510 mg of sodium. And this is before they come around and bury it in extra parmesan and hand you a basket of bread sticks. Is anyone wondering why their is an obesity epidemic in this country?
My yummy recipe has less than 300 calories per serving, only 7 grams of fat, (only 1/3 gram of which is saturated)! You can feel really good about serving this to your family and since January has been "weight loss month", you can even serve this for dinner and easily stay within your 1,200 calorie per day limit!

Ingredients for our veggie lasagna. For 30% more fiber, use whole grain noodles.

Today's recipe bulks up the layers with eggplant that is naturally low in calories, and a good source of dietary fiber, folate, potassium and manganese. It also uses red bell peppers and onions and has a creamy ricotta filling made from tofu. I like SprouTofu, from Wild Wood Organics that uses sprouted soybeans but any organic, non-GMO firm tofu will do.

Steamed eggplant high in fiber, folate, potassium and manganese

Eggplant itself is a very healthful vegetable. The problem is that cooks love to fry it up. Eggplant, for some reason, soaks up oil like a sponge so it's almost impossible to lightly sauté it. The secret to this dish and other dishes, like an Asian stir fry, is to first "steam" the eggplant. In the lasagna, the steamed eggplant will soak up the wonderful flavors of the sauce and the sautéed peppers and onions so you won't miss any flavor but you will cut out tons of calories.

Sauté onions and red bell pepper

Cut the red bell peppers into larger slices and chop the onion and sauté until soft. You can use other veggies too. Add mushrooms or artichoke hearts. Let you imagination go wild! 

Vegan seasoned ricotta 

For those of you who avoid dairy, you can make a ricotta substitute by blending tofu with ground flax mixed into water and some seasonings. It firms up just like ricotta and tastes great! I pulsed in a handful of fresh parsley at the end. You can also use fresh basil if you'd like but right now the only herb still alive in my garden is parsley!

Building the lasagna

Now's the fun part! If you are using a 9"x13" pan that's only 2 inches high, you'll only be making 3 layers of noodles with 2 layers of filling. I usually spread the tofu ricotta directly onto the cooked noodles and layer everything else on top of it. For some added nutrition (especially for vegan critical vitamin B12 requirements), sprinkle Vegetarian Formula Red Star Nutritional yeast over each layer. 

Serve with a raw tossed green salad and dazzle your guests!

Vegan Eggplant and Red Bell Pepper Lasagna
[makes 8 servings]
1 eggplant, approximately 1 1/4 pounds, sliced in 1/2" slices
A few pinches of salt for eggplant
1 pound firm organic, non-GMO tofu, cut into large cubes
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
1/4 cup water
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, (or to taste) 
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (or fresh basil)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, (or 2 small), cleaned and sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
12 (or more) regular or whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to directions
4 cups prepared tomato sauce, unheated
4 ounces of your favorite vegan cheese, (more or less to taste)
4 heaping tablespoons vegetarian formula nutritional yeast


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
Take out a 9"x13" baking dish.
Place a steamer basket in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven. Steam eggplant slices, sprinkled with a bit of sea salt, until a fork easily pierces them, about 6 to 8 minutes. You may have to do this in two batches. Remove from sauce pan and set aside. Empty water from sauce pan as you will be using it to cook the onions and peppers.
Place the tofu cubes in a food processor with an S blade.
Mix the ground flax seed in with the water and beat with a fork until well blended. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt and mix together well. Add the flax mixture to the tofu and process until smooth. Pulse the fresh parsley into the tofu ricotta just until mixed. Set aside.
In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil and sauté the red bell pepper and onion, together with the dried basil, until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside.
Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Leave them a bit "al dente" because they will be cooked again in the oven. Drain, rinse and keep them in a dish or their cooking pot in cold water until needed.
To build the lasagna, put a cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of the 9"x13" baking dish.
Cover the bottom with 3 cooked lasagna noodles. If they have been stored in cold water, shake off the water before using.
Spread half of the ricotta mixture over the noodles.
Lay half of the eggplant, half of the red bell pepper and onion mixture, and one third of the cheese over the ricotta mixture. Drizzle a cup of tomato sauce evenly over the layer and sprinkle half of the nutritional yeast over the sauce.
Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles and repeat, using up all the rest of the ricotta mixture, eggplant, red pepper and onion mixture, and 1/3 of the cheese. Cover with another cup of tomato sauce and sprinkle the rest of the nutritional yeast over this layer.
Top with the rest of the noodles. Cover with the rest of the sauce, making sure to coat the noodles completely and sprinkle the top with the rest of the cheese.
Tent with aluminum foil, making sure not to touch the top of the lasagna with the foil, and bake in the preheated oven until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 5 minutes.
Cut into 8 servings and serve immediately.


Per serving: 291.7 calories, 7.4 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 14.9 g protein, 35.3 g carbohydrates and 7.9 g dietary fiber.


Per serving using whole grain noodles: 286.7 calories, 7.3 g fat, 0.3 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 16.1 g protein, 41.6 g carbohydrates and 10.2 g dietary fiber.


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